The Thread It Spun
by LizzieMorewolfe
Summary: "I thought I had lost you, darling." "I's here forever, Daddy. We pwomise, 'member? 'Sides, Daddy, an angel saved me." A lot can happen in four years but a whole lot more can happen in just a few minutes, changing more of one's life than one would ever think possible. Chapters 4 and 5 up.
1. Trigger

**I promise you that I have not abandoned Death Wish. It's just that I can't weave threads that aren't there to be woven yet. And Snapshots is technically complete seeing as they are all one-shots, unrelated and could stand alone. I present to you "The Threads They Spun"**_s_

_Its silky web the spider made_

_The thread it spun, on them it laid_

_And so, bound, that day they were_

_Eternally linked to the other_

_2017 (Five Years after The Avengers Initiative)_

"Romanoff, I need you to assemble a team and leave for Chicago straight away. I need you to perform an extraction." Natasha Romanoff sat up straighter as she listened to Director Nick Fury talk. It was obvious from his demeanor that this particular mission was one of utmost importance and that it required the best of efforts, not that she gave any less in any of her missions.

"Understood, sir. May I know the details of the mission? It will make it easier for me to choose the group."

"There is a S.H.I.E.L.D. affiliated school in Chicago where the children of agents go. Unfortunately, a crime syndicate in Germany found out about this and managed to get one of their men to pose as a teacher. This teacher managed to fool several parents into thinking that there would be a special activity that would take place on Saturday. While some managed to escape, there are still thirteen children who are being held hostage in the school." Natasha leapt up from her seat, appalled at the news he was giving her.

"Sir, it's been two days! Why are we only organizing an extraction now? Something could have happened to those kids. And do their parents know?" Fury's face hardened as he listened to her.

"Agent Romanoff, you are here to do your job not ask questions." She boldly glared at Fury and her voice was firm and unrelenting as she spoke again.

"With all due respect sir, I'm not going in blind and I need to know because I know the agents who send their kids to school there and it matters to me whether or not they are aware of the situation." Their eyes met and there was a clash of steely gazes as they both stood their ground and refused to budge. Finally, Nick Fury sighed and rubbed his face.

"We thought we could negotiate peaceably. And, yes, those parents who are not currently working are currently being made aware of the situation. Which is why I need you to be in Chicago yesterday." With that, he left the briefing room.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff was nothing but efficient. Within the next thirty minutes, she had assembled at seven-man team and was on her way to Rosewood Elementary.

Upon arriving, they immediately spread out to their assigned spots in order to do a thorough reconnaissance and assessment of the situation. There were eight men patrolling outside: two on the rooftop, two by the front entrance, two by the back entrance and one on each of the two remaining sites. The surveillance footage revealed that another eight were spread out patrolling various other floors while the thirteen men were in the third floor art studio with the kids. The last one was in the school's surveillance room.

She quickly formulated a game plan. Their technical expert was stationed on the rescue chopper and had already managed to hijack their communications system. He and another agent, who was in charge of monitoring everything, were responsible for looping the footage from the school cameras and taking the place of the enemy agents in answering their comms unit.

Natasha was to slip in along with Agent Storm through the roof access after taking out the men stationed there while the others would buy them time by taking out those on ground level. The tech people would keep them apprised of the movements of the hostiles so that they could take them out accordingly. All in all, they expected to have the children out in less than an hour's time.

And they did just that, managing to disarm the men who were patrolling the school before knocking out the guy in the surveillance room. All the while, the two men stationed at the chopper were keeping up the charade by answering the comms unit whenever one of the people from the art studio contacted them. Suffice to say, by the time the five agents had assembled together near the art studio, the agents inside were completely unaware of the danger before them.

Agent David and Agent Campbell silently took out the two guards standing just outside of the art studio before they threw in a flash grenade. Natasha knew that it wasn't exactly something you throw in a room full of kids but they really needed that moment of surprise in order to take out the men without harming any of the kids. When the grenade went off, they immediately charged in, guns blazing.

The difficult part came in here as they had to incapacitate the men who were holding the kids without them doing anything to the children. But Natasha had picked the best of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to do this with her and they had most of the men unconscious in no time. They had already begun evacuating the place, and nudging the kids towards the main entrance (the chopper was waiting for them outside) when a piercing wail resounded. She immediately saw one of them men heading toward a smaller exit that they had (foolishly) failed to take note of. He was holding a terrified little girl that Natasha took to be about four. She immediately identified the running man as the leader of this team and told the others to finish up in there while she took care of it.

She went after the guy who, in his panic, was running as fast as he could toward the fire escape. She managed to shoot one of his legs and he came down fast. She quickly fired another shot, this time it was directed at his head and his body tipped forward, pining the girl underneath him.

She made her way there as fast as she could and shoved the man's body away from the little girl. When she saw her face, she froze and sucked in a breath.

She looked just like him. And then the memories came, unbidden.

**REVIEWS, please? They mean a lot to me. Also if anyone can figure out just who the agents are, then well, virtual giants cookies and lava cake for you! IF you get all three right, I will write you a fanfic of your choice (no slash, no smut. Be nice to the poor kids.)**


	2. Redemption

**I apologize if it's a little OOC. But yeah, these are the events that lead up to 2017, Chicago. Enjoy and Review please. **

_Venice, Italy; 2008 (Three and a half years before the Mission)_

She already knew he was there the moment she walked into her safe house. Well, one of her safe houses. She had several set up in this particular city as it was the one place where she knew they were never going to find her.

She laughed bitterly. Just two days ago, she was HYDRA's pride and joy: the finest product of Project Red Room. But two days ago, she decided to spare the life of the man who she was asked to kill_. _

_She still remembers listening to his daughter's whimpering and to the man's pleas, begging for her to understand why he defected and how the government had lied to him as they had to her. She remembers that moment she wavers between human and soldier, that fraction of time when indecision overtakes her programming. Then she lowers her gun and takes out the keys to one of her safe houses hidden in Prague. She tells them to run, run as fast and as far as they can. _

_The gratitude in his eyes as he scoops us his little girl is enough to send a surge of warmth coursing through her and for the first time in the last fifteen years, the twenty-year old assassin remembers what it was like to be a person, capable of emotions and of compassion. And she's hooked. She savors the warmth, the joy and the pride that comes with knowing that she did the right thing. And she's ruined right then and there. She can never kill mindlessly again._

They give the kill order forty minutes later when the clean up crew comes in to find the small apartment empty with her gun and most of the weapons HYDRA had issued to her on the floor. By then, she was already halfway through to Venice with some of her personal weapons and a carry on that she had stashed in a nearby safe house.

She has nothing left, no home, no friends and no family. They had gotten too close in France and she was able to identify two of the men pursuing her as her mentor, Ivan and her best friend, Alexi. Seeing them had felt like having her heart ripped out and shred to pieces. She shouldn't have been surprised though that they would choose the job over her. HYDRA had taught them that love was for children and discouraged attachment.

Still, their betrayal had shaken her and she had mindlessly run from them and slipped under the radar before heading towards Venice. But she knows that it won't take them long to find her. After all, nobody knows her better than Alexi and with Ivan along, she would be dead within minutes.

Her reverie is interrupted by the sound of an arrow being nocked into place. And she makes a split second decision not to fight this man but to allow him to kill her. She would rather die at the hands of a man she doesn't know than see the face of the man she has come to consider as her father as he painfully lets her life seep from her.

Her face betrays none of these thoughts as she smirks at the silhouette of the man that is hiding by his nest in the rafters.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Hawkeye, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s golden boy, here to kill me himself. Should I be impressed?" She sounds as if she has not a care in the world and she realizes that she really doesn't. She is going to die after all.

"Of course, only the best for the best." His voice is a rich baritone, cocky and sarcastic. She scoffs at him.

"You? The best? Don't make me laugh. Just because you're Fury's golden boy doesn't mean that you can be considered 'the best'. I can take you out with my eyes blind folded." He steps out behind the shadows of the rafter before nimbly jumping down to face her. She's startled and she betrays this by slightly backing away from him.

"Is that so? Well, Miss Romanoff, why am I still here? Why are you not fighting me?"

"Because I don't want to." Her voice is soft, defeated as she says this. Her honesty surprises both of them. "Do it now, before they come."

He cocks his head to one side and doesn't make a move to grab raise his bow, with the arrow still in position. He stays this way for a minute. Two minutes. Three. And she gets frustrated.

"I said. Do it now. Why am I not dead yet? Shoot me!" She is screaming at him by then. She goes to him and reaches for the bow. "Look, I'll even show you how to do it. All you have to do is raise the bow and-"

A hand grabs hers and twists it behind her back. She sucks in a breath in shock.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. My. Bow. Understand?" She nods wordlessly. He doesn't let go of her hand but instead, he uses it to tug her towards the kitchen area, He motions for her to take a seat, his movements surprisingly gentle despite his gruff demeanor. She sits and so does he. He puts his bow on the table but makes sure that she sees the knife he now has in his left hand. Then he opens his mouth.

"Now, Miss Romanoff. Would you care to explain to me why the Black Widow, Russia's famed assassin, is asking a 'filthy American' to kill her? Because obviously, I'm missing something here seeing as just two weeks ago, you were mercilessly butchering the whole Spanish envoy."

"Maybe because she thinks that the afterlife is gonna be so much more fun and that it would be her greatest challenge yet to attempt to kill the devil." His mouth twitches upward before he suddenly leans towards her and stares her down with his grey eyes.

"Cute. But, really, why are you so willing to die? If I'm going to kill you, I, at least, deserve an honest answer." His gaze was unnerving and it felt as if he was boring into my very core itself and peeling away all the layers that were wrapped around my heart, protecting it from just this.

"Are all assassins in America this attached and human? Fine, two days ago I was officially declared an enemy of the state. Now, I'm on the run. I no longer have a home because my Motherland does not welcome me anymore. The closest thing I have to a father is now planning twenty different ways to torture me and kill me as he, and my best friend/fiancé are closing in on me. Did I mention that they were my only family left and that they had betrayed me? And to add to that, the man I spared, the man who started all this has completely ruined me. I am now compromised by emotions and an unwillingness to kill mindlessly. So tell me, why would an ex-Russian assassin want to die if she has no home, no family and no job anymore?" Tears had begun rolling down my cheek and I angrily wiped them away. How had this man managed to make me confess all that, much less cry in front of him? I had just lost whatever scrap of dignity I had left and in front of my would-be executioner too. Speaking of Hawkeye, he looked as if he was contemplating something, his eyes betraying the emotions warring within him. Finally, he looked as if he had reached a consensus.

"What if-" And he hesitated here before his eyes hardened in resolve and he continued. "What if I could give you that? You'd still have a job but you'd only kill those deserving of death this time. You'd also get a home and a family. Granted, it will take awhile before you consider America home and me, your friend but what if I can guarantee you that? Will you stop this ridiculous 'I want to die' thing and join us?" Was this guy nuts? Just fifteen minutes ago, he was about to pierce my heart with an arrow and now he's asking me to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"Are you crazy? I thought you were sent to kill me?"

"I was but I change my mind. You're obviously skilled and your reputation precedes you. And you no longer have any ties with Russia. So why not? S.H.I.E.L.D. could use someone like you and it's getting lonely in the Hawknest seeing as my handler isn't exactly the chatty type? So what do you say, Miss Romanoff?" He offered me his hand and I took it.

"Call me Natasha, Hawkeye."

"It's Clint. Clint Barton."


	3. Answers

**Yes, I'm uploading two chapters today seeing as these were all supposed to be brief flashbacks. However, I felt like they weren't enough to convey the emotions and the evolution of their relationship. Note: Anything not set in 2017 is a flashback. Thanks. Enjoy and review please.**

New York, 2012 (Post- Mission)

Tony had generously offered for them to stay in Stark Tower for the time being or at least until Thor could take Loki back to Asgard with him.

Fortunately, several floors, which had bedrooms, were left unscathed from the draining battle that had taken place a few hours ago.

Natasha was being dragged by an equally exhausted Clint Barton to one of the bedrooms that had an en suite bathroom. He immediately shoved her to the bathroom and handed her the small duffle bag that S.H.I.E.L.D. had procured from her quarters when they were ordered to take a mandatory leave of absence for five days. She immediately changed into a tank top and cotton shorts before grabbing a towel that was lying beside the sink and wetting it. She used this to wipe away the caked on blood and made herself look as uninjured as possible before stepping back onto the room.

Clint was wearing sweat pants but didn't have a shirt on. He motioned towards the first aid kit that he had managed to snag from the kitchen table before turning around to show her his back which had pieces of glass sticking out from it from crashing into the window. She knew that he would much rather patch her up first but that she would never let him since she always needed to take care of him first. So he wordlessly let her pluck out the glass shards and clean up the wounds on his back before turning around to let her patch the rest of him up. His face was blank save for the occasional flinch that came with the alcohol pad touching a wound. The moment she finished, he quickly grabbed his shirt and put it on before turning to face her.

"Your turn."

He quickly dabbed antiseptic onto the various wounds on her face, arms and legs before putting bandages on the worse ones. He took her ankle, which was obviously swollen, and wrapped it up. Then the moment she dreaded came.

"Shirt up, Tash." Sighing and inwardly cringing, she lifted her tank top high enough for him to see the only major injury there: a bruise that looked very much like the sole of his boot. His breath hitched and then she could feel his cool, calloused fingertips gently brushing the bruise. Her body tensed at the when he touched a particular angry looking part and he immediately withdrew his hand.

"Tasha, I-"

"Don't. I know that if he wasn't controlling you that you would never dare to do it." She quickly yanked her shirt down and stood up, testing her ankle. She briskly packed up the first aid kit, disposing of the trash before washing her hands. She could see him sitting dejectedly on the bed, head on his hands. "I can still see you beating yourself up, Clint. None of us blame you so why blame yourself?"

"You don't understand, Tash. I could have killed you. I mean, look at that!" He motioned to the part where the bruise was. "I hurt you, Tash. I promised myself I would never hurt you and I did. Oh gosh, I could have killed you."

"Hey, look at me." I cupped his chin and tilted his face so he was looking at me. "I'm here. I'm okay. I know that you would never ever hurt me and I still trust you."

"Why? How could you still do that?" Instead of answering him, she nudged him off the bed so she could slip under the covers before holding it up for him to crawl in. Then she turned around and faced him before grabbing his hand and placing it above her heart, reminding him that she was still alive.

"I'm right here. I'm safe. Go to sleep, Clint." She watched his eyes close and listened to his breathing even out. As she watched him sleep, she remembered the day she was officially assigned as his partner.

It had been six months since her recruitment and her days had been filled with psych evaluations and reconditioning to rid her of the brainwashing Russia had inflicted on her. It also guaranteed that she wouldn't betray S.H.I.E.L.D.. It had been a mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting six months. The only highlight then was her weekly sparring sessions with Clint and her late night talks with him. She had gotten to know him better and after three months, they had become comfortable enough to open up about themselves. However, it was that night, after she had "graduated" and was assigned to Clint, that they had really talked. They decided to have no secrets between them and so they talked well into the night and the next day, revealing everything about themselves.

Clint shifted in his sleep before mumbling, "Tash." And he drew her closer to him. Lulled by his breathing and the sound of his heart breathing, she allowed her eyes to drift shut. Right before she succumbed to sleep, she allowed herself to voice out the answer to his question, the very thing she realized that night three years ago.

"Because, you big dummy, I love you."

**I think I just did an inception: a flashback within a flashback. Anyway, please review. I am open to critiques because they help develop my writing skills. Thanks again. **


	4. Separation

**I'm sorry. (hides behind the Hulk). I just started my first year in the University end of May and it kinda killed my muses for a while. Forgive** **me?**

_New York, 2012_

_Natasha sighed and felt her body relax as she slumped onto the elevator in the Avengers Tower. She had been assigned to a three month long mission just two weeks after the Chitauri Incident and had just finished debriefing for it. It honestly felt good to be home. Even though she had only stayed there for two weeks before today, she had shockingly acclimated to it very quickly. It took a week before the whole team settled into a routine but Natasha only realized how much of a home it felt like a month into the mission when, whenever she thought of home, her room back in the Tower came unbidden into her mind._

_There was also another factor that added to the Tower's homeliness and that was Clint. Ever since she had said those three words out loud, she felt like a weight had lifted and that his hold on her had tightened even more. In fact, she was absolutely dying to see him._

_The elevator doors slid open and she quickly headed towards the living room, where laughter was echoing from. She gracefully dropped her bag by the wall before calling out, "Honey, I'm home!", a wry grin forming on her lips._

_Five heads whipped around and five faces immediately lit up._

_"Fair Lady, at last you have graced us with your presence. I had despaired of seeing you before I had to return to my home." Thor crushed her in a fierce hug, his voice a pleasant rumble._

_"Welcome back. I trust the mission went well, ma'am?" was all Steve said before gently helping extricate her from Thor's grip. (Not that she needed any help but his chivalry was appreciated). The moment she was free from the thunder god's grasped, a light hand touched her shoulder. She turned around and was met by the kind face of Bruce _

_"It went as was expected. Hello Bruce, not bored with Stark yet?" She smirked as she saw the pout form on Tony's face._

_"Hey! I happen to provide the best entertainment in the world. Ask the Merry Man of Sherwood over there." He was indignant in his reply but there his eyes betrayed his mirth and genuine pleasure at seeing her back. "Actually, don't ask him. And seeing as you're back, can we finally, finally have team building activities like Movie Mondays, Karaoke Fridays and oooh Prank the Pirate Thursdays. I think Nick would like that, don't you? It would be..."_

_Natasha tuned him out as she went to where her usual partner sat. THe blond haired archer had watched the going ons with amusement although he didn't participate in it. When he noticed her heading towards him, his face took on an exaggerated pout_

_"Hey Clint." He proceeded to ignore her comment and angle his body away from her. "_  
_"Oh so you finally remembered me. Finally realized how not so awesome your boys are?" He sounded mockingly dejected. "So what am I? The last resort."_

_"You know you're the only guy for me." She punched him lightly as she said that to draw his attention from her face should he see the telltale flush that betrayed her emotions. (The Black Widow doesn't blush. Why was she blushing? What is wrong with her?)_

_"Well I should be after all I've done for you. What say you to going somewhere quiet?" He didn't even wait for her answer before taking her to the rooftop. When the roof door finally closed, he pulled her in for a hug._

_"Missed you Tasha." Her heart may have fluttered a bit when he said that._

_"Missed you too. Although it was a nice change not to hear the steady stream of distraction you call friendly conversation."_

_"I happen to know that you like the sound of my voice and that it unnerves you to be met by silence." She let out a laugh at that and allowed her body to relax even more. It really felt good to be home._

_"Oh, by the way, there's someone I would like you to meet. We've only become official last month after our fourth date but I already feel like we've been together for a much longer time. You'd love her. Bobbi, that's her name, is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and she's one of the better ones out there. Not as awesome as us but she's awesome enough for me. She's also eally gorgeous- blue eyed, cute dimples. And did I mention that she loves Lord of the Rings too and that she can quote all of Merry and Pippin's lines with flawless accents? She's dropping by tomorrow. You should totally meet seeing as I've told her so much about you that she's been bugging me about setting up a girl day just for you guys. You will meet her won't you?" _

_Natasha felt her heart drop as he began to talk and it shattered into tinier and tinier pieces as he told her more about the girl, Bobbi was her name? She sounded like the kind of girl he could and did easily fall for and didn't have the baggage Natasha had. She forced a smile onto her face at his last question, although his puppy eyes didn't hurt and with forced enthusiasm agreed to the arrangement before excusing herself. She ran to her room, locked the door and broke down._

_She did meet Bobbi and she loved her. The girl was everything CLint had ever dreamt of and the only flaw Natasha could find was that she didn't know Clint's "language" and pick up on his tells as well as she did. She even understood Natasha's secret love for green tea flavored frozen yogurt ("Why eat yogurt if you can have ice cream?" The boys would say.) and horribly cheesy love stories. _

_She wasn't surprised when he proposed to her during New Year's and married her two months later. What did shock her was their announcement that Bobbi was pregnant a month later. They transferred to another facility when she was six months in and all Natasha heard from him before he left was that they were having a baby girl who was going to be her goddaughter and that he was going to take lighter jobs now. _

_That was the last time they had talked, directly, or electronically. She found out from Hill that Bobbi had started cheating on Clint when the baby was eight months old and that when he had found out, she had been having an affair for six months. And that she was leaving him because he just wasn't interesting enough for her. It was very shocking news and even Natasha was stunned that she had misjudged who she thought to be a loving sweet girl. _

_What was even more shocking was that Bobbi was killed in a mission gone wrong when her lover revealed himself to be a Italian mafia member who was just playing with her to get information. Clint was utterly heartbroken when he found out that she didn't make it, even though she was such a horrible wife to him. And even Natasha felt saddened at such a needless loss of life._

_Unfortunately, Natasha had been on year long deep cover mission that required radio silence and only found out six months after it had happened. She wanted to talk to Clint but by then, he himself was on another mission. After that, there never seemed to be a right time to talk again and so she hadn't. All the while she convinced herself that she didn't love him anymore, that it was an infatuation and that she would get over him._

It's been three years since that incident and she had safely tucked HIM away in a corner of her mind when a little girl suddenly brought it all back. She was jolted back to the present when said little girl grabbed her arm.


	5. Acquaintances

**I hope that two chapter is a worthy enough compensation for my delinquency. And that your Clintasha feels would be enough to make you still like the story. **

**PS, contrary to belief. I like Bobbi. She isn't a bad person but she did fall prey to the charms of an evil man. And if Tasha and Clint wouldn't work out, I would have him end up with Bobbi and her (shockingly) with Tony. Nobody kill me for my opinions. Thanks.**

For a moment there, Natasha Romanoff, the unflappable, unwhelmable(1) Black Widow just stared at the girl, gaped mouth in shock at just how much she looked like him. Natasha immediately checked her for any injuries then found none. She then took her time to observe the little girl. She had wavy blond hair that was neatly braided and a pair of blue-gray eyes were achingly familiar. Right now those eyes were staring at her in absolute terror as the little girl quickly snatched her hand away from where it was resting on her arm. Natasha instinctively smiled at her before gently holding out her hands to her cowering form. The girl shrank backwards, hesitant to step into the arms of the lady who went after them with guns blazing.

"You're safe now, dorogoy. I won't let him hurt you." Natasha tried to coax her from her place, not willing to just pick her up and even frighten the kid more.

"Y-you promise?" She asks tentatively, surprisingly clear for a girl as young as her. Natasha widens her smile before solemnly holding her pinky finger up.

"I pinkie swear." The girl cracks a smile and timidly links her pinkie to Natasha's.

"What's your name?" She suddenly asks petulantly. Natasha lets out a soft chuckle at that. She sounded like Clint when he was suddenly woken up from a deep sleep on their off days.

"I'm Natasha Romanoff."

"That's a pretty name. Like Tasha, the warrior lady. Daddy tells I stories." Natasha was surprised at this. Clint tells this little girl stories about her? She squelches down the fluttering that instinctively begins in her stomach, shocked that she could still react like this after she had thought that she was past feeling like a lovesick puppy. She forces herself to remain casually curious and friendly.

"A warrior lady, huh. I know a few like her, dorogoy."

"I is Iya not dwogo," come her indignant reply. Natasha has to laugh at her fierce expression. It was hard not to seeing as this girl, who couldn't even properly her name properly-she was assuming that her second name was Philippa, after Phil- was glaring daggers at her.

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Iya. Oh, and dorogoy isn't a name. It means darling in Russian." She holds her hand out and Iya, gaining confidence, shakes it. "And your name, is it short for anything? How old are you?"

"I is Sofiya Phippa Barton. I four!" She holds out four fingers. "Daddy says I named after heroes. Sofiya is Daddy's best fwend and Phippa is a super spy. But he a boy and he name Philip. Me Phippa."

Natasha stiffens when she hears the full name. Philppa she had expected as Phil was dear to both of them. But Sofiya. He named his daughter after her! Her real name was Natalia Sofiya Romanova and only three people knew that: Clint, Phil and Fury. Her smile found its way back to her face as she basked in the pleasure of knowing that she was indeed still his best friend.

"Well that's a very beautiful name and Philip does sound like a super spy name. Does that mean that you, Sofiya Philippa Barton, are a super spy too?" She asks teasingly.

"Yeahuh. Daddy says I the best hider. He always seeker and he never finds me!" SHe declares emphatically. Natasha laughs at this, imagining Clint pretending to look for this glowing little girl. She was surprised at how easy and painless it was thinking about Clint again as if they were still working together and as close as ever. She briefly wondered whether or not she would finally get to meet him once she got them both to safety. If she did, would their dynamic stay the same? She quickly pushed those thoughts away before returning her attention to the little girl.

"Ready to go, dorogoy?" SHe holds her hands out once more and the child launches herself at Natasha. She swiftly walks towards the exit and is met by several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on standby, worriedly waiting to see if Natasha and the last child would make it out. When they did, the other broke into cheers. This was pierced by an outraged cry.

"Let me go to her! She's my daughter!" Natasha's heart clenched at the anguished voice and Iya immediately perked up at the sound of her Daddy's voice. She caught sight of Clint desperately trying to go past the S.H.I.E.L.D. barriers, craning his neck to see the girl, his little girl, for whom the agents were cheering for.

"That Daddy. We go see him now." Iya squished Natasha's face with her hands and made sure that they were looking at each other eye to eye as she said that. Natasha knew then that it was too soon to see him so she shook her head before lowering the two of the to the grass and setting Iya down.

"Sorry, dorogoy. I have to go now. But you go see Daddy okay? And give him the biggest and tightest hug you can give because I'm sure that he misses you very much. Stay safe alright?" At this, Iya wraps her in a fierce hug before planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you 'Tasha. You my garden angel now." With a wave, the girl runs towards Clint and past the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who let her pass at Natasha's word. She watches Clint scoop her into a hug as tears made their way down his face. He buries his head on the crook of her neck while rocking her gently. She smiles sadly at the beautiful scene then heads towards a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet that is waiting to take her, and the prisoners to base. At the mouth of the Quinjet, she turn to face them again.

"Dasvidanya, dorogoy. Til we meet again." She raises her hand in a farewell to the oblivious father and daughter then allows the ramp to close.

* * *

Clint held his daughter fiercely to himself. When he had found out what had happened to her, he had gone into full on panic mode. He had just gotten home from a four day mission and was eager to go see Iya when Hill had informed him about the situation. He immediately ran towards one of their Quinjets, hurriedly followed by Hill who immediately ordered for them to be taken to the school. When he arrived there, they were informed that an extraction was ongoing. Gunfire followed this statement and he felt his heart lurch against his throat. Iya was all he had left. Bobbi...Bobbi had betrayed him then left him with a one year old girl. While he did still feel sadness for her death, he no longer loved her. Rather, he loved the idea of her that he once used to have. Iya though, Iya was everything pure and beautiful and innocent, all of the things Clint was not and would never be. And he wanted for her to remain that way. Clint didn't use to be a religious man, but after Phil then Bobbi, he turned to the one thing that used to be a constant when his parent were still alive: Faith.

He prayed and bargained and pleaded. He begged even more and grew even more desperate as he saw children streaming out but did not see the blonde hair nor the bright purple jacket she was sure to be wearing. The plea changed into a prayer of thanks and relief when he heard the cheering. He immediately pushed past Hill towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. barriers but was denied entrance beyond that.

And try as he might, they wouldn't let him in. However, pretty soon, a familiar flash of blonde and purple caught his eye and before he realized what was happening, there was a four year old holding him in a death grip, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Your safe now, darling. And I'll never let them take you from me. You're safe now. You're safe." He kept repeating it over and over as if to reassure himself that she was indeed safe. He placed kisses on top of her head, on her forehead, on her nose, on her cheeks and just ran his hand over her to check for injuries. When he was convinced that she was really here and alright, he allowed himself to finally release whatever tension he had left. "I thought I had lost you, darling."

"I's here forever, Daddy. We pwomise, 'member?" She says it solemnly, eyes mirroring his. "'Sides, Daddy, an angel saved me."

"OH, did he?" He asks with a slight smile, one eyebrow raised.

"SHe a she, Daddy. She name Tasha Romoff." Clint felt the blood drain from his face at his daughter's statement and he desperately tried to slow down his rapidly beating heart. She didn't mean that did she? It could be possible that her four year old garbled speech mispronounced her name. Iya couldn't have said Natasha Romanoff. Right?

**(1) If anyone can tell me where that word came from, extra cookie points for you. PS, it's a Jennifer Barnes book.**


End file.
